Fantasy Related But Great Info....
Paul's Boutique
Twenty-two of the NBA's 30 teams were in action last night (assuming that the 2008-09 incarnation of the Wizards actually counts as a team), and as a result, there is a sizable amount of information to digest.
And though it may be Week 20, it's never too late to debut a slightly new format for the Thursday Dose. So, here it goes, a team-by-team breakdown of all the squads that played Wednesday, sorted alphabetically by team name (and employing the all-important but decidedly under-utilized enhancements of underlining and capital letters). Let us begin:
BULLS
Observations: Multiple Bulls struggled in a blowout loss to Orlando, so don't read too much into the performances of
Derrick Rose,
Tyrus Thomas and
Ben Gordon (though Gordon's 1-of-10, four-point night was particularly unkind one game after his 43-point, eight-three barrage)… As for
Joakim Noah, if you didn't see a bad game coming against
Dwight Howard, you haven't paid enough attention to Magic games this season.
Injuries: Tim Thomas (knee) is likely to return Friday, but unlikely to have any value.
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CELTICS
Observations: Stephon Marbury was awful (zero points, four assists in 24 minutes), but I will remind you of
Larry Hughes, who was dreadful in his first few games for the Knicks before he got into game shape. Please note: I am not saying Marbury will come anywhere close to Hughes' productivity, but he could still be a respectable deep league option a couple weeks from now… Meanwhile,
Leon Powe (23 points, 13 boards) looks like a solid short-term option with
Glen Davis and
Kevin Garnett out.
Injuries: Rajon Rondo (ankle) is out for Friday, and may not play Sunday, either. The same can be said for
Glen Davis (ankle) as well.
GRIZZLIES
Observations: Does anyone else find it interesting that there are no NBA team names that start with a "D," "E" or "F"?… As for the Grizzlies, they got crushed by the T-Wolves last night, which is not easy to do.
Darko Milicic had his first double-double in three weeks (don't get excited), while
Rudy Gay had a quiet 12 points and seven boards. Before you get too upset at Gay, remember that he would have been coming off three strong games in a row had he not injured his eye and missed the second half of last Saturday's game against the Sixers.
HAWKS
Observations: Josh Smith (22 points, 12 boards, three blocks) is back…
Joe Johnson (30 and 31 points his last two games) is on fire…
Al Horford (13 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, three blocks) is not slowing down…
Mike Bibby (two points, two assists) is struggling, but should come out of it.
Injuries: Smith is dealing with an ankle sprain, but it obviously wasn't an issue Wednesday… Meanwhile, word has come down that
Marvin Williams will miss 4-6 weeks with his back injury. Time to cut him loose if you haven't done so already.
HEAT
Observations: Amazing that 32 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four steals almost seems like a quiet night for
Dwyane Wade…
Jamario Moon (13 points, eight boards, three treys, a steal and a block) had a good night, but is still somewhat inconsistent.
HORNETS
Observations: Not a lot to say except that
Chris Paul (30 points, 10 boards, 13 assists) got his league-leading sixth triple-double, and owners have to be pleased seeing
Rasual Butler attempt 13 threes (making six of them).
Injuries: Peja Stojakovic (back) didn't play on Wednesday, but could return this weekend.
JAZZ
Observations: Andrei Kirilenko has gone dormant again after a promising 18-point game Sunday. Get him benched for now… Meanwhile, reports of
Paul Millsap's demise were premature – he's averaged 18.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 1.0 bpg in his last three.
KNICKS
Observations: Nate Robinson (30 points, six assists) was outstanding,
Larry Hughes (22 points, four rebounds, four assists) was solid,
Chris Duhon struggled (two points, four assists) – and none of that should come as a surprise. Duhon is not startable right now, but I still wouldn't advise dropping him.
LAKERS
Observations: Kobe Bryant (37 points) is now averaging 31.8 ppg in 18 games since the start of February…
Josh Powell had 17 points and nine boards, but only because
Lamar Odom was serving his one-game suspension.
MAGIC
Observations: You know it's a blowout win when two of the biggest headliners for Orlando are
Tony Battie (18 points, eight rebounds) and
Marcin Gortat (13 points, 15 rebounds)… Meanwhile,
Rashard Lewis had his worst game of the season (three points on 0-of-9 shooting), in part because he only played 24 minutes in the blowout.
Injuries: Hedo Turkoglu (Achilles' tendinitis) sat out Wednesday, and will be a game-time decision for Friday.
MAVERICKS
Observations: Not a lot of intrigue on the Mavs from a fantasy standpoint these days.
Jason Terry is locked in ((27.3 ppg in his last three), while
Dirk Nowitzki has been awesome lately (32.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.7 spg and 2.0 bpg in his last three), but has just nine threes in 19 games since the beginning of February.
NETS
Observations: Devin Harris was tremendous (31 points, seven boards, 12 assists, three steals, six turnovers), while
Vince Carter was somewhat dreadful (14 points, two threes, two steals on 5-of-18 shooting). Vince is still averaging 22.2 ppg and 2.3 treys this month, but has been maddeningly inconsistent in doing so.
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NUGGETS
Observations: Anthony Carter had a season-high 12 assists off the bench against the Thunder, but I wouldn't recommend getting excited…
Renaldo Balkman (14 points, 14 rebounds) is an intriguing deep-league pickup with
Kenyon Martin slowed by back problems…
Chris Andersen had 10 points, five boards and four blocks while playing through a calf strain in the second half.
Injuries: Kenyon Martin didn't play Wednesday and figures to miss some time to get his back straight.
PISTONS
Observations: The Pistons lost for just the second time in their last seven games, but the bigger story is their resurrection as a viable source of fantasy production.
Richard Hamilton (27 points, nine rebounds, five assists, eight turnovers),
Rodney Stuckey (23 points, eight boards, eight assists),
Tayshaun Prince (25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three blocks) and
Antonio McDyess (21 points and a career-high 22 boards) were all outstanding in the OT loss to New York.
Injuries: Rasheed Wallace (calf) didn't play Wednesday, won't play Friday and is expected to be reevaluated after that.
RAPTORS
Observations: No major developments, but
Andrea Bargnani is now averaging 21.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.0 bpg and 2.4 threes this month.
ROCKETS
Observations: Ron Artest's shot was off (4-of-16), but still had six steals and a block…
Aaron Brooks (14 points, four assists, three treys) got just 22 minutes, but still out-produced
Kyle Lowry (six points, five assists in 26 minutes).
SIXERS
Observations: Samuel Dalembert broke out of a four-game slump with 19 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks…
Thaddeus Young (29 points) is now averaging 19.2 ppg, 1.7 spg and 1.0 threes in his last six games.
THUNDER
Observations: Earl Watson had a big game (18 points, six rebounds, seven assists) but it's probably not worth reading too much into it…
Thabo Sefolosha (14 points, nine rebounds, two steals, two blocks) continues to be a defensive maniac (3.3 spg, 1.8 bpg in his last four).
Injuries: Kevin Durant (ankle) is hoping to return Saturday or Monday.
TIMBERWOLVES
Observations: Kevin Love was excellent (19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block), but still can't be trusted as a shot-blocker…
Mike Miller (18 points, 11 rebounds, three treys) and
Ryan Gomes (25 points, five boards, five assists) look like automatic fantasy starts the rest of the way.
Injuries: Randy Foye (ankle) wants to play Friday, but might not make it back that quickly…
Rodney Carney (uncomfortable bruise in groin region) could return to action Friday, but isn't a consideration in most leagues.
TRAIL BLAZERS
Observations: Joel Przybilla is enjoying life right now (nine points, 15 boards, five blocks), but his fun could be ruined by the imminent return of
Greg Oden (see below)… Meanwhile,
Steve Blake is slumping, but as slumps go, it could be worse (he had 13 points, four assists and three treys on Wednesday and is averaging 2.3 threes this month).
Injuries: Greg Oden (knee) has been ruled out for Friday, but he's ramping up his workouts and getting closer to a return.
DON NELSON'S SCIENCE EXPERIMENT (The Warriors)
Observations: Monta Ellis (19 points) and
Andris Biedrins (10 points, 13 rebounds) made promising returns from their family-related absences…
Jamal Crawford had 19 points and five assists, but there's no telling what Nelson will do with him down the stretch… Meanwhile,
Stephen Jackson (29 points, seven rebounds, seven assists) remains largely Nellie-proof (at the moment).
Injuries: Brandan Wright (shoulder) could play Friday. He's not likely to have fantasy value, but you never know what Sergeant Whimsical will decide to do next.
WIZARDS
Observations: This team is bad (15-50)…
Caron Butler (23 points, nine assists) and
Antawn Jamison (25 points, 10 rebounds) are good, but it's hard to envision them making it very far into April.
OTHER INJURIES
Kevin Martin (ankle) didn't practice Wednesday and isn't guaranteed to suit up Friday. The shutdown clock is ticking.
Danny Granger (foot) is aiming for Friday, and if that doesn't happen, he plans to play Sunday.
Manu Ginobili (ankle) was spotted taking jumpers on Wednesday. He's getting closer, but is at least a week away.
TONIGHT
Two games on the docket, and four teams we all know very well. The early game has the Lakers in San Antonio (not a ton of fantasy intrigue there, aside from the return of
Lamar Odom). The late game has Cleveland in Phoenix, where high-octane offense meets lockdown defense. I'm looking for
Delonte West to bounce back from his two-point, two-assist debacle against the Clippers Tuesday. And whether that happens or not, Dr. A will be here on Friday to bring you the complete lowdown.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Marvin Williams out 4-6 weeks w/ back injury </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Marvin Williams - G/F - ATL - Mar. 12 </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>Marvin Williams' back won't require surgery, but he is expected to miss 4-6 weeks due to the injury.
